"Marine Admiral?"
"Marine Admiral?!"
"..."
At Rowan's casual remark, everyone's expression froze. The female soldiers behind Tsuru, in particular, all felt like this old man had to be joking.
"Master, why the sudden interest in the Admiral position?" Tsuru asked, finding herself utterly perplexed. In her memory, her teacher had never shown even a sliver of interest in that seat.
Meanwhile, the young girl behind Tsuru looked on with increasing curiosity. Having grown up at Marine Headquarters, her understanding of the Admiral rank far exceeded that of ordinary people. That position wasn't something you could just occupy based on seniority.
On what basis did her grandmother's teacher claim he could just "get" an Admiral spot? Just because he was old and had connections?
As for Gion, her expression didn't change much. An Admiral position? So what? If the one saying it was Mr. Rowan, then it was a given.
Only Zephyr, Ain, Zoro, and Luffy maintained their usual smiles. If the Old Man had said this in the past, Zephyr might have been confused or even tried to talk him out of such "delusions." But after witnessing the Old Man's true power, Zephyr would raise both hands in absolute support. Since the Old Man wanted to be an Admiral, then give him the rank. It wasn't as if his strength didn't warrant it.
"Let's not talk about that for now," Rowan said, waving it off. He raised his pipe and gestured toward Luffy, introducing him: "Tsuru-chan, let me introduce you. This is that brat Garp's grandson, Luffy."
"Garp's grandson?" Tsuru turned her gaze to Luffy, scrutinizing him closely. She had heard Garp mention him before, but she hadn't expected the little boy to have grown so big in the blink of an eye. Then again, according to Garp, his grandson was only a few years younger than her own granddaughter—and her granddaughter was already a Major at Headquarters.
"Come, call her Grandma Tsuru," Rowan said to Luffy.
"Grandma Tsuru," Luffy called out obediently. He knew exactly how miserable the consequences would be if he didn't, so he didn't hesitate. He also didn't shout anything arrogant like wanting to be the Pirate King. Not only because his Great-Grandpa had warned him, but also because this was Marine Headquarters. Aside from being the Navy's nest, his "kind" grandfather who loved to use the Fist of Love was also here.
Seeing Luffy's well-behaved act, Rowan nodded with satisfaction, then pointed to Zoro. "And this one is currently my unofficial disciple, Zoro."
"Unofficial disciple?" Tsuru looked at the sharp, blade-like aura radiating from Zoro, her expression showing surprise. She knew her teacher hadn't taken a student in a very long time. For him to take this boy under his wing, even unofficially, spoke volumes about the potential he saw. Though she hadn't seen Zoro's capabilities yet, she concluded that anyone who caught her teacher's eye would surely achieve great things.
The only thing that puzzled Tsuru was why her teacher would take a swordsman as a student. In her impression, Master Rowan knew absolutely nothing about swordsmanship.
"Sister Tsuru, are we still going to that Headquarters meeting?" Momousagi, who was still gripping Rowan's arm, suddenly asked.
"The meeting?" Tsuru looked at Rowan and shook her head. "Forget it. That meeting is boring anyway, just discussing candidates for the Warlords. I don't want to see any of those fellows anyway. Besides, looking at the time, it's probably almost over by now."
Though she didn't understand what Rowan meant by "getting an Admiral spot," meeting her teacher here meant she had to properly welcome him.
"True," Gion agreed. Attending a dull meeting was nowhere near as important as accompanying Mr. Rowan.
Thus, after a brief discussion, the group of Marines led by the two titans, Zephyr and Tsuru, escorted Rowan toward the heart of the base.
Not long after, as Rowan reached the plaza in front of the Marine Headquarters fortress, his steps suddenly faltered, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Several striking figures were currently sauntering out of the fortress. To the Navy, these men were practically uninvited guests.
As Rowan looked at them, they looked back at him. Leading the group was a man wearing sunglasses and a pink feathered cloak, sporting short blonde hair. With his incredibly arrogant gait and even more arrogant expression, there probably wasn't a second person on the sea like the King of Dressrosa.
"Fuffuffuffuffu... I didn't expect to run into that guy here..."
Upon seeing Rowan, the man's already brash grin widened, his face filled with predatory interest. With a bounty of 340 million Berries, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea: Donquixote Doflamingo!
Beside Doflamingo, fellow Warlord Sir Internal Crocodile stood with drooping eyelids, a cigar clamped in his mouth. His expressionless face suggested he didn't have much interest in Rowan. Next to him, Gecko Moria was grinning widely.
Slightly further away was the final member of the four present: "First Knight of the Sea" Jinbe, who had had a "one-sided encounter" with Rowan just days prior. Unlike the other three, a cold bead of sweat trickled down Jinbe's forehead the moment he saw Rowan.
Out of the seven Warlords, four had appeared at once!
"The Seven Warlords? What are these guys doing at the Headquarters?" Rowan took a puff of his pipe, feeling a bit curious. It seemed the meeting Tsuru mentioned was indeed the Warlord summit.
"Well, well! Look who I've found! Fuffuffuffuffu! If it isn't our Navy's 'World's Greatest Swordsman,' Vice Admiral Rowan?! I didn't think I'd run into you on my first visit to the Headquarters..."
Striding forward with his unique, swaggering gait, Doflamingo walked right up to Rowan, licked his lips, and chuckled.
"Hishishishishishi! So this is the Vice Admiral Rowan that Hawkeye Mihawk challenged? He certainly looks... 'extraordinary'!" Gecko Moria also waddled over, looking at Rowan with intense curiosity. He had been quite shocked when he saw that news report a few days ago.
"Hmph, how boring," Crocodile muttered, standing his ground and puffing on his cigar, his eyelids still heavy and cold.
Jinbe, however, gave a respectful nod and greeted him: "Mr. Rowan." Looking at him, it seemed he held no grudge over Rowan wiping out the Arlong Pirates recently.